An image processing apparatus that enables digital image data transferred from a digital camera, etc., to be printed is present. For example, a multi-function peripheral having a scanner function and a printer function is used as the image processing apparatus, and the image processing apparatus is installed in a convenience store, etc., and provides a printing service of image data shot by a digital camera.
Such a multi-function peripheral has a function of printing a plural piece of image data arranging them on a printing paper sheet when the multi-function peripheral prints the pieces of digital image data. When the multi-function peripheral executes this function, the multi-function peripheral usually executes preview-displaying for the printing on a display panel of the multi-function peripheral before executing the printing of the image data.
In the case where a user transfers digital image data shot using a digital camera to a multi-function peripheral and causes the multi-function peripheral to print the data, when users shoot using the digital camera in, for example, a portrait-like posture, pieces of image data that are rotated clockwise by 90° and pieces of image data that are rotated counterclockwise by 90° may be present being mixed. This is because the upward direction of each piece of image data differs by user when each of the users sets the digital camera in the portrait-like posture.
When these pieces of image data are printed as they are, printed images of the data include printed images in one orientation and printed images in another orientation that differs by 180° from the orientation being mixed and, therefore, viewing the printed images becomes troublesome. Therefore, a multi-function peripheral may rotate each piece of image data by 180°. When a piece of image data is rotated, a user needs to select the piece of image data that the user desires to rotate and execute an Operation to individually rotate the selected piece of image data in the preview display of the multi-function peripheral.
For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2006-287744 discloses an apparatus that obtains image rotational information created during shooting by a camera and automatically rotates the image based on the image rotational information as a technique to adjust the orientation of a piece of image data as above.
As above, in the case where an image processing apparatus such as a multi-function peripheral prints a plural piece of digital image data arranging them on one printing paper sheet, when the pieces of image data include vertically long image and horizontally long image being mixed, a user needs to manually select all the pieces of image data that the user desires to rotate in the preview display and press down a rotation button for each of these pieces of image data and, therefore, a problem has arisen that the procedure is complicated and convenience and usefulness are insufficient.
According to the technique described in the above '744 publication, during the shooting by the camera, the orientation of each piece of image data is varied depending on whether the piece of image data is shot in the portrait-like posture by holding the camera with its left side upward or the piece of image data is shot in the portrait-like posture by holding the camera with its right side upward. Therefore, even when the image processing apparatus rotates each piece of image data using the image rotational information obtained when the piece of image data is shot, all pieces of image data may not be always in the same orientation.